Back and bigger than ever: FSC begins semester with record enrollment

By Gary White The Ledger

Monday

Aug 24, 2015 at 10:32 PM

Florida Southern College opens its 132nd academic year Wednesday with the largest enrollment in school history, several newly created academic majors and a prominent addition to the campus architecture.

LAKELAND — Florida Southern College opens its 132nd academic year Wednesday with the largest enrollment in school history, several newly created academic majors and a prominent addition to the campus architecture.

The private college expects 2,250 undergraduate students for the fall semester, a 6.4 percent increase over last year's record high of 2,115, said John Grundig, vice president for enrollment management. Florida Southern welcomes its largest freshman class ever with nearly 700 students, Grundig said.

The student population represents 41 states, Grundig said.

Applications to the school have doubled in the past four years. In addition, the college is retaining a higher percentage of students from year to year, Grundig said.

The surge in freshman enrollment doesn't reflect a lowering of academic standards; in fact, Grundig said the average high school grade-point averages and admission exam scores have been rising.

"What we're equally excited about is the academic quality has remained strong," Grundig said. "We set an all-time record last year for academic profile, and we're continuing that track this year with the larger class."

FSC officials said an important factor in that trend is the creation of the Hollingsworth Scholars program. A $3.7 million donation from alumnus Bernie Little and his wife, Mary Jane Hunt, established scholarships that cover the full cost of tuition and fees, room and board, and textbooks for four years.

Florida Southern will enroll five students through the program this fall, but the impact goes further than that, Grundig said. About 100 students applied for the scholarships and many of them chose Florida Southern after receiving different offers of financial aid.

The increase in students has created a housing challenge for the college. Kyle Fedler, the college's provost, said about 90 percent of the students will live in college-owned housing. He said Lake Hollingsworth Villas, which the school bought in 2012, will be at full capacity for the first time this fall.

The new students will find an expanded range of academic options. Among the new majors this year are biotechnology, health care administration, sport business management, business and free enterprise, political economy, and exercise science. In addition, the college welcomes its first students to major in dance, a program created last school year.

Fedler said he couldn't recall Florida Southern previously adding so many majors at one time.

Students seeking the new biotechnology degree will take classes in the Jack M. Berry Building, a former citrus facility that has been thoroughly upgraded. New elements include a laboratory dedicated to working with tissue cells, FSC spokeswoman Kate Whitaker said.

"We've seen explosive growth in the number of science students," Fedler said. "People often think of us as primarily focused on humanities or business and education, but sciences are essentially our biggest program."

Some of the new majors will include classes taken in the Becker Business Building, a towering addition at the intersection of Lake Hollingsworth Drive and Hollingsworth Road. The building, with an exterior paying homage to elements of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structures on campus, reflects the college's commitment to having a business program of the first rank, Fedler said.

Florida Southern is one of the smallest schools in the country to receive accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Fedler said the college spent nearly $1 million on technological equipment in the Becker Business Building, which will be officially dedicated later this fall.

Florida Southern also has consolidated scattered campus offices in the Rogers Student Center, the former home of the business school. A former teaching auditorium has been converted into a student lounge and the school will hold a contest to name it, Whitaker said.

—Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. He blogs about tourism at http://tourism.blogs.theledger.com. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

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